Obama formally marks end of Iraq War

President Obama formally marked the end of the Iraq War in a solemn ceremony at an air base near Washington, D.C.

Neither Obama nor Vice President Biden spoke at the event for returning troops and the United States Forces-Iraq colors.

In brief remarks back at the White House, Obama contrasted the end of the war with the impasse over the payroll tax cut.

"I just got back from a ceremony at Andrews Air Force Base where we received the flag and the colors that our troops fought under in Iraq," Obama said. "And I met with some of the last men and women to return home from that war.

"And these Americans and all Americans who serve are the embodiment of courage and selflessness and patriotism," he added. "And when they fight together, and sometimes die together, they don't know and they certainly don't care who's a Democrat and who's a Republican and how somebody's doing in the polls and how this might play in the spin room. They work as a team, and they do their job, and they do it for something bigger than themselves."

From the pool report (POTUS stands for President of the United States):

Pool counted 26 uniformed service members get off the plane -- a mix of Army, Navy and Air Force. To most of them, POTUS appeared to say "I'm real proud of you, thank you." He had someone behind him handing him presidential challenge coins that he pressed into each person's palm while he shook their hands, the same way one's uncle might gift a $100 bill. Biden gave several jovial handshakes, all smiles.

The USF-I Command Sgt. Maj. Joseph R. Allen carried the colors off the plane, according to the White House. Greeting him was POTUS, VPOTUS, Ashton B. Carter (Deputy Secretary of Defense), Gen Martin Dempsey (Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff), Sergeant Major Bryan B. Bataglia (Senior Enlisted Advisor to the CJCS), Deanie Dempsey (spouse of Gen Dempsey), Charlene Austin (spouse of Army General Austin, III) and Lisa Bataglia (spouse of Sergeant Major Bataglia).

Several of the spouses offered hugs to the line of members. After the full line went by, POTUS joked with Biden and Carter, but Pool couldn't make out specific language.

POTUS and entourage then moved inside a hangar about 30 feet away. The "President's Own" U.S. Army Band played four songs -- celebratory toe-tapping music -- before Obama entered from behind a blue curtain. Exactly 27 members from each military branch were lined up on one side of the hangar, who POTUS saluted. The band then played the Star Spangled Banner -- and quite well, although acoustics inside the hangar were less than ideal.

Dep Sec. Carter spoke first. "We welcome you, we're proud of you, you are in our debt," he said. "As the president always says, your service belongs to the ages."

Gen. Dempsey went second. He asked all military family members to stand for applause and mentioned it was important now to reflect on what the U.S. learned in Iraq and what it accomplished. He was followed by Gen. Austin, who said that military operations in Iraq had come to "a successful conclusion" and called the service members part of the "preeminent military force in the world." Three times he thanked the troops for a job "extremely well done."

Neither POTUS nor VPOTUS spoke.

The band then played the Armed Forces Medley; POTUS stared straight ahead. Then, during Stars and Stripes Forever, he descended the stage and shook hands of military family members while Pool was ushered out.

To report corrections and clarifications, contact Standards Editor Brent Jones. For publication consideration in the newspaper, send comments to letters@usatoday.com. Include name, phone number, city and state for verification. To view our corrections, go to corrections.usatoday.com.

USA TODAY is now using Facebook Comments on our stories and blog posts to provide an enhanced user experience. To post a comment, log into Facebook and then "Add" your comment. To report spam or abuse, click the "X" in the upper right corner of the comment box. To find out more, read the FAQ and Conversation Guidelines.

Approval ratings, 1945-present

About David Jackson

David's journalism career spans three decades, including coverage of five presidential elections, the Oklahoma City bombing, the 2000 Florida presidential recount and the 9/11 terrorist attacks. He has covered the White House for USA TODAY since 2005. His interests include history, politics, books, movies and college football -- not necessarily in that order. More about David